Foreclosures Hit 36th Month of Decreases

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IRVINE, CA-The US housing market continues its steady recovery, with foreclosures hitting their 36^th straight month of decreases, according to locally based RealtyTrac. The firm reports that foreclosure filings saw a 2% decrease in September from the previous month and a 27% decrease from a year ago.

The downward trend started in October 2010, when lenders and servicers were accused of improperly signing off on foreclosure documents with a practice dubbed “robo-signing,” RealtyTrac reports. The September figures helped drop third-quarter foreclosure activity to the lowest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2007.

“The September and third-quarter foreclosure numbers show a housing market that is haltingly returning to health,” says Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac. “In a healthy housing market, foreclosures are rare but streamlined, while still protecting the rights of the homeowner. While foreclosures are clearly becoming fewer and farther between in most markets, the increasing time it takes to foreclose is holding back a more-robust and sustainable recovery.”

Blomquist adds that sharp jumps in foreclosure activity in some local markets may come as a surprise to some, but the spikes a demonstrate that “while millions of distressed homeowners have been pulled back from the precipice by foreclosure-prevention programs over the past several years, once those programs expire or are exhausted, a percentage of these troubled homeowners are still susceptible to falling into foreclosure. In addition, even slight economic downturns at the local or regional level can push these homeowners hanging on by a thread over the edge.”

For the latest complete foreclosure report by RealtyTrac, click here.

As GlobeSt.com reported last week, an estimated 47% of bank-owned homes nationwide are still occupied by the previous foreclosed-on owner, dubbed “vampire foreclosures,” according to RealtyTrac. In addition, 20% of all homes in foreclosure nationwide have been vacated by the homeowner, a phenomenon which the firm is calling “zombie foreclosures.”

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